Generating Heat From Paved Surfaces

A professor of civil and environmental engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio has received a large grant to develop a technology that generates energy from hot pavements.

Much like incandescent bulbs, the thermal energy generated from paved surfaces is normally wasted, dispersed as heat – making these surfaces the perfect candidate for advanced energy harvesting technology.

“Spaces dominated by pavements are much hotter than green spaces, because they absorb heat while green spaces are cooler,” said Professor Samer Dessouky of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Dessouky and his team received $298,000 from the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute and CPS Energy to perfect a thermal energy-harvesting system they’d previously developed last year.

The mature technology could generate energy from freeways, airport runways, and parking lots, and the UTSA team is using drones to map out the most optimal heat sources.

Read more about this fascinating development here: www.energyharvestingjournal.com/articles/13110/harvesting-clean-energy-from-hot-pavements?stv1=1%3A328042%3A12136